Nollywood actress Chioma Akpotha has shared how she trained for her part in the new Netflix series Seven Doors.
Akpotha brings a story of royalty, kinship, family, love, treachery, and restoration to life in Seven Doors by playing the part of an Igbo queen married to a Yoruba king (Femi Adebayo). She had to speak Yoruba fluently for the job.
The actress revealed that she learnt Yoruba especially for her role in the series during a TVC interview with her co-star Femi Adebayo.
She said, “I had to learn Yoruba for my role in Seven Doors. The Yoruba in the movie was not the regular one spoken in Lagos State, so I had to be very particular about the tone.”
In a different story, filmmaker Jade Osiberu has responded to social media users who label actors Kehinde Bankole and Chioma Akpotha as underrated.
In an apparent attempt to make the point that they are not underappreciated, the 39-year-old producer said that both actresses are highly sought after and highly respected.
Jade also reaffirmed that the two of them had appeared in some of Nollywood’s highest-grossing films, but they are unable to comprehend what their admirers mean when they say that they are “underrated.”
This follows Kehinde Bankole‘s leading performance in the classic Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti and Chioma Akpotha’s portrayal of Queen Amaka in the popular Netflix film Seven Doors.
Taking to the microblogging platform X, Jade Osiberu tweeted:
“I saw a tweet claiming Chioma Akpota is underrated, and I remember a similar tweet last year about Kehinde Bankole. I guess my question is ‘underrated to whom?’ It can’t be the industry because we very highly rate both these women. And what does being rated mean? I don’t think it means respect cos almost every time they’re both in a project, their performances are widely praised.”
“Both have been in some the biggest and or Highest Grossing Nollywood Films in recent years. So what exactly does it take to be rated to the general audience? Notoriety? Constant social media buzz/scandals? Being social media viral sensations?”
